Our members have many challenges in today's climate to face but there are also lots of opportunities available to them. Sustainability and cutting Co2 emissions is high on the agenda of all the countries in the Union. Our work has never been so crucial.

The theme of this edition is how we can save sustainable transport which of course leads to saving vital jobs, practitioner knowledge and expertise. It can be saved by tapping into crucial funding streams. In David Blackledge's piece he outlines ways into European Funding. It can also be saved by making use of the current policy framework some information on this can be found below. It can also be saved by making those crucial partnerships. Read Mike Cooper's article about the business improvement district and see how he has gone about this.

The theme of this edition is how we can save sustainable transport which of course leads to saving vital jobs, practitioner knowledge and expertise. It can be saved by tapping into crucial funding streams. In David Blackledge's piece he outlines ways into European Funding. It can also be saved by making use of the current policy framework some information on this can be found below. It can also be saved by making those crucial partnerships. Read Mike Cooper's article about the business improvement district and see how he has gone about this.

The political parties in power across the British Isles have declared support for sustainable transport and in some cases have delivered policies which have supported the work of our members.

In Scotland following the success of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in the parliamentary elections recently, it remains to be seen if the party will deliver on its manifesto pledge for a £50m 'Future Transport Fund' which would focus on delivering better connectivity and innovation in transport solutions. The fund also focuses on active travel options and the expansion of electric vehicles. Various initiatives have been launched via Scotland's National Transport Strategy (2006) and include: Smarter Choices, Smarter Places – a joint partnership between Transport Scotland and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) aimed at achieving active travel and public transport emissions.

In Wales there has been a positive approach to sustainable transport. Before the elections the Labour-Plaid Cymru coalition was successful in delivering a number of active travel initiatives aimed at reducing car journeys and encouraging walking and cycling. In January this year the Welsh Government launched the 'Personal Travel Planning' (PTP) initiative with the initial phase conducting a survey of travel habits in Cardiff. The work will mainly focus on where the most impact can be realised, for example Cardiff and Mon a Menai, two of the emerging Sustainable Travel Centres in Wales.

In Northern Ireland, The Northern Ireland Executive have prioritised funding for major infrastructure projects and road building with £1.2bn allocated for roads and £200m for public transport. Prior to the election steps were taken to show recognition that there was a need reduce car journeys by investing in public transport and infrastructure.

One step to achieve this was the consultation on the revised regional transport strategy, which incorporated a greater emphasis on public transport and active travel. The Northern Ireland Executive has published walking and cycling

strategies with targets that seek to increase the number of short walking journeys (less than two miles) by 20% and support better infrastructure to encourage more cycling.

Meanwhile in the Republic of Ireland the previous government, Fianna Fáil put in place a comprehensive transport policy which was set out in 'Smarter Travel' (2009) and outlines a strategy for sustainable transport until 2020. Ireland's First National Cycle Policy Framework was launched in 2009. Other initiatives include: Transport 21, the largest investment ever in Ireland's transport system and provides for a total capital funding of over EURO 34bn in transport over the next 10 years – EURO 16bn of which had been dedicated to investment in public transport.

In England the Coalition Government have continue to embed its big policy areas such as Localism and Big Society. Recent developments have seen the announcement of the local enterprise zones which will be governed by the Local Enterprise Partnerships and the deregulated of parking charges. The Government hopes this will lead to lower charges. Also, the national policy restricting residential packing spaces has been scrapped.

Meanwhile the UK have announced an ambitious reduction in CO2 emissions: 50% cut in carbon emissions by 2025. It also means the UK is the first country in the world to have tough legally binding carbon targets through to 2027.

Although the budgetary cuts have no doubt reduced our sector the policies which are coming out from all the governments on this island and Ireland are overall demonstrating political commitment. We need to see this demonstrated at a practical level and implemented at the coal face.

Neil Scales
ACT TravelWise Chair